Levy v. Town of St. Albans

In Levy v. Town of St. Albans, 152 Vt. 139, 142, 564 A.2d 1361, 1363 (1989) the Court held that where the zoning board issued a building permit to a dog-racing facility and the superior court later found the approval to have been void as beyond the board's authority to grant, plaintiff-neighbors were barred from attacking that board decision by 4472. See Levy, 152 Vt. at 142, 564 A.2d at 1364. The Court observed that 4472 "implements a policy of repose . . . . to ensure the orderly governance of development." Id. at 143, 564 A.2d at 1364. As the plaintiffs had not appealed the original decision of the zoning board but were attempting to collaterally attack it in Levy, the Court concluded that 4472 "forecloses such a contest" and deprives the court of jurisdiction to hear such claims. Id. at 142, 564 A.2d at 1363. The Levy plaintiffs argued that 4472 does not apply where the zoning decision was void at the time it was made. We rejected that argument, noting that the Legislature chose to provide finality and repose in zoning disputes, and concluded that this policy prevailed "even where the board's ruling is ultra vires." Id. at 143, 564 A.2d at 1364.